dōzō 銅造

Bronze work. Bronze casting has been very important in Japan since ancient times, and was used for Yayoi period dōtaku 銅鐸 (ritual bell-shaped objects), swords, and spears. Bronze has been one of the primary media for Buddhist statues, second only to statues in wood. Various casting techniques were used, for example the lost-wax technique, *rōgata 蝋型, stone-mold casting, *ishigata 石型, and repoussé, *oshidashibutsu 押出仏. Bronze work flourished in Japan before the Nara period, and then saw a revival in the Kamakura period. The term dōzō, written with the characters 銅像, also means bronze statue, but this term is most commonly used to refer to Western-style bronze statuary made in Japan during and after the Meiji period.